New Course Descriptions and Prerequisites

Please see the College Catalog for the most current course descriptions and prerequisites.

Essential Requirements

Admission to the Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN program is highly competitive and applicants are accepted on the basis of their predicted success in the program. The program is extremely demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally. Specifically, the program requires the successful completion of sixty credits within one year. The coursework combines an in class and online format; in addition, the clinical portion will require you to perform in a highly stressful direct patient care environment for two days per week for ten hours each day. Because students in this program are required to effectively deliver safe, quality, nursing care to patients in the clinical setting, each student must meet all of the essential requirements for admission, academic progression, and graduation from the Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN Program.

Applicants to the Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN Program are presumed to be aware of the essential requirements listed below. By accepting admission and enrolling in the program, the student certifies that he/she has read these materials and understands the essential requirements of the clinical program.

Thomas Edison State College does not discriminate on the basis of disability. If reasonable accommodations will allow a student with a disability to meet these essential requirements for participation in the nursing program, then Thomas Edison State College will assist the student in making the reasonable accommodations. Students who wish to request reasonable accommodations on the basis of disability will need to self-identify, provide current documentation of the disability from a licensed healthcare professional, and submit a written request for accommodation(s). Please refer to the Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN Student Handbook for further information on requesting an accommodation.

The areas of essential requirements are as follows:

General abilities:
The student is expected to process data which can be integrated, analyzed, and synthesized in a consistent and accurate manner. The student is expected to possess the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, equilibrium, and movement.

Communication Abilities:
The student is expected to be able to sufficiently demonstrate effective communication including verbal, non-verbal, written, and observational skills during professional interactions with others. This requires the ability to use the English language to effectively communicate with patients, their families, peers, instructors, and members of the healthcare team.

The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing has the discretion to require a nursing student to take the TOEFL regardless of the student's native language if there is a concern about the student's ability to communicate in English.

Observational Ability:
The student is expected to be able to make accurate observations to assess the health status of the patient. This includes the functional use of the senses and sufficient motor activity to carry out the necessary assessment and reporting activities that are essential to patient care.

Motor Ability:
The student is expected to be able to perform gross and fine motor movements required to perform safe and comprehensive nursing care. Examples of care that the students must be able to perform include but are not limited to: turning, transferring, transporting, and exercising patients. The student is expected to have the psychomotor skills necessary to perform or assist with procedures, treatments, assessments, administration of medications, and emergency interventions including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the preparation and administration of parenteral medication, and the suctioning of obstructed airways and protection of patients in the event of fire. The student is expected to maintain consciousness and equilibrium, and have the physical strength and mental stamina to meet the demands associated with extended periods of sitting, standing, moving and physical exertion required to perform satisfactorily in clinical nursing experiences. The student must also have the ability to document patient care by writing or typing on an electronic medical record for long periods of time.

Cognitive Ability:
The student is expected to have the ability to develop problem-solving skills and demonstrate the ability to establish plans of care and set priorities. This includes the ability to measure, calculate, remember, analyze, and synthesize objective as well as subjective data and make time sensitive decisions that reflect consistent and thoughtful deliberation of the appropriate data. The student is expected to have the ability to read, and understand written documents in English; to listen, speak, write, reason; and perform mathematical functions at a level which is required to safely care for patients. The student is expected to have the ability to understand in both a written and verbal format the materials presented throughout his or her course of study.

Behavioral and Social Attributes:
The student is expected to possess the emotional stability required for the use of his/her intellectual, communication/observation; motor and sensory abilities in order to exercise appropriate judgment and promptly complete all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of diverse patients in a variety of settings. The student is expected to be able to care for patients, relate to their family members, and work cooperatively with peers, supervisors, instructors, and health team members with honesty, integrity and civility and without discrimination in relation to race, color, ethnic group, age, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political preference, or ability to pay. The student is expected to have the flexibility to function effectively under stress; that is, the individual is expected to be able to learn to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Concern for others, integrity, accountability, interest and motivation are necessary personal qualities.

The essential requirements identified above are derived from the principles contained in the American Nurses Association (2010) Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd Edition) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2008) The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.

The items listed above include some examples of care that the student must be able to perform safely, but the care of patients is not limited to those examples.